Pioneer Press Fri, 04 Apr 2008 23:46:56 -0600
Chisago City, nonprofit and former campers unite to save Camp Ojiketa land for park
Almost two years have passed since Camp Ojiketa in Chisago City closed. But the 71-acre parcel along Green Lake has not yet sold รข€" and that makes conservationists and camp alumni hopeful they can save it from development. The nonprofit Trust for Public Land, city leaders and a group of former campers are trying to raise $3.8 million to turn Camp Ojiketa into a park. The land is owned by the Minnesota Council of Camp Fire USA. Camp Ojiketa was founded in 1926 as a summer camp for girls and eventually served boys, too. It closed in 2006. Camp Fire USA put the property up for sale in 2006 for $5 million, and a couple of buyers came forward but then backed off. Judy Montgomery, a former camper and founding member of the Ojiketa Preservation Society, understands the camp's draw. The 61-year-old Gordon, Wis., resident started going there in second grade and kept going into her teens as a counselor. Montgomery has attended reunions and been in touch with alumni ever since. That bond made it easy to get people to rally around the project, she said. "This is a camp that was so near and dear to many of us. We just had a really hard time thinking it would be turned into condos," Montgomery said. "There's so little green space ... why not try to save this 70 acres for future generations?" Of the three groups, the Ojiketa Preservation Society wants to raise $100,000; Chisago City has pledged up to $1.5 million; and the Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit conservation group, is looking for grants. They have an option to purchase the land through Dec. 31. [emphasis added]
[[keywords: LandUse;Metro;]]
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